Fastfwd01

I’m a new cyclist and just got a road bike in August – 11 speed with 11-32. I have frankly really not paid a lot of attention to the gears, but this chart is really helpful. I’m in a super flat area – so, this thread caught my attention.

Since seeing this chart I’ve been trying to pay more attention to what gears I’m using. I seem to notice that I’m getting stuck on my 16 a lot and have a tough time pulling the 14. So, I end up stagnated around 22mph without a tailwind. I rarely use my 34 up front unless I’m crossing an overpass possibly for whatever that’s worth.

Is it a matter of me needing my strength to increase to break over the hump of 22mph or would I benefit from a different cog set? Maybe the 12-25?

Leinster

A Dutch friend of mine recently knocked a couple of minutes off his Tri bike leg time with a closer cassette. If you're bouncing between the 16 and 14, it sounds like you could use a 15, especially if you have a 32 that doesn't get used.

JohnJ80

I would think that if you are concentrating on form and in a flat area, the 11-32 would be the worst possible choice. A lot of times when you get stuck on improving your speed it's because of a too low of a cadence (aerobic capacity plays into this). The 11-32 is tough for that because of the large jumps between cogs.

Presuming your cadence is high enough (80-90rpm) then I'd think you'd probably be ok with a 12-25. What might be better is that SRAM makes an 11-26 (11-26: 11,12,13,14,15,16,17,19,21,23,26). That's pretty much exactly the same as the 11-25 from both SRAM and Shimano but you get a 1 cog larger gear if you do need some help up a hill. Everything else is the same except for the largest cog. SRAM and Shimano cassettes are completely compatible in both the free hub and with chains. I have multiple of both and switch them with impunity.

SRAM:
11-26: 11,12,13,14,15,16,17,19,21,23,26
11-28: 11,12,13,14,15,16,17,19,22,25,28

Shimano and SRAM:
11-25: 11-12-13-14-15-16-17-19-21-23-25

Shimano:
12-25: 12-13-14-15-16-17-18-19-21-23-25
11-28: 11-12-13-14-15-17-19-21-23-25-28
12-28:*12-13-14-15-16-17-19-21-23-25-28

For hilly conditions, I like the 11-28's but would like the 12-28 better. Only problem is that it is available only in Dura Ace and that's a $240 cassette. I'll wait that one out.

J.

Drew Eckhardt 

No.

Cogs which run 12-13-14-15-16-17-18-19-21-23-25 with no objectionable gaps not 11-12-13-14-16-18-20-22-25-28-32.

Nope. 53-39-26 x 12-13-14-15-16-17-18-19-21-23-25 has the same range, doesn't have the gear gaps, and requires less front shifting.

Homebrew01

Make note of the easiest gear that you ever use, on your toughest section of road (front chainring combined with rear cog). Perhaps it's a 34 front and 23 rear. So, your next cassette could have a 23 for largest cog, or more common 25 "just in case". Then you will have smaller steps between gears. Since you're in a super flat area, you won't be going downhill at 50 mph, so might be better of with a 12 small instead of 11.

BoSoxYacht

+1 to what Homebrew said.

If you have a compact crankset and live in a mostly flat area, a 12-25 11speed or 12-23 10 speed cassette works really well(at least for me). It gives you a tightly spaced range of 12t-19t and a few slightly wider spaced cogs for short hills. If you get into some real climbs, you can drop down to the 34t chainring and have enough to climb larger hills.

Cafe

I'm hoping I can stay on the big chain ring and be in the middle-ish cog on the cassette when I go 15-17mph on flats(no tail wind).

BoSoxYacht

What is you normal average cadence? If you are a high cadence guy, 15-17mph and a 50t big ring might have you crosschained most of the time. You can check it with Sheldon's gear calculator.

Sheldon Brown's Bicycle Gear Calculator

rpecot

My Roubaix came with a 10 speed 12-30 cassette. I've been thinking of changing it out since most of my local roads are F-L-A-T. I got an instant case of upgraditis and started looking at 11-25 or 11-28, thinking, I wanna go fast! But as I started looking into the individual gears, what I had, and what gears I actually USE, it became clear that I don't need an 11T, I need a 16T! I haven't pulled the trigger yet, but I think I will ultimately go with a 12-28. I will only be giving up the one low gear, but gaining that 16T mid-range gear which I will definitely put to good use.

achoo

12-25 is also an option:

Shimano 10 Spd 105 5700 Cassette, Cassettes, CASSETTES

patentcad

Calm down you silly 41 freds.

I'm starting to like that compact with the 11/25 eleven speed in back. Once I get a little fitter it will be the spinilicious shiznit.

Cafe

I would say my cadence is probably around 75.

BoSoxYacht

with that cadence a 12-25 11 speed or 12-23 10 speed cassette should be perfect on the flats an you'll still have plenty of low gears for climbing when you drop to the 34t chainring.

Cafe

I can say after my first test ride after I finished the installation of the drivetrain...that I really like the gear ratios thus far on the 50/34 and 11/32t. What's nice is that I'm always in the big crank on the flats....I didn't even have to drop to the smaller ring up front when going up small inclines. The sweet spot for the flats has me right in the middle of the cassette as well. I found a nice steady speed at 17mph and even found myself upwards at 20-22mph when pushing it a tad. I never had to go to the small ring once which is what I was kind of worried about. I'm really glad I went with the medium cage so this just worked out perfect for me. After selling the bundled 105 carbon pedals the whole 105 5800 group only ran me 390, so a great deal on a fantastic group as well.

zymphad

I want 13-25 10 speed.

hueyhoolihan

it makes no difference to anybody that would post the question on a forum.

BoSoxYacht

So buy one.

Universal Cycles -- Shimano CS-6600 Ultegra Cassette

zymphad

Hmm add that to list of 2015 purchases.

newbie101

I have a strong preference for a triple as a cyclist returning to road riding, but manufacturers prefer to spec bikes with as few chainrings as possible: 1 for off road, 2 for road. Consumers don't have much say in the matter, unfortunately.

Perhaps we'll just have to wait for 12 or 13 speed cassettes to get the combination of range and tight(er) spacing that many of us prefer.

Cafe

Haven't tried any steep inclines yet. Haven't had to go the granny route. But I think a 11-38t cassette would be the holy grail.

krobinson103

11-36 is common in mtbs now. No reason you can't fit an mtb RD and run a compact up front. Did it with 50/34 and 11-34 with an acera RD on last road bike. 38 would require some serious chain wrap though.

BoSoxYacht

you did this with 11speed?

krobinson103

8 and 9 speed worked fine. Both the Giant Anyroad and the Trek 520 (new) run interesting drive trains. Not sure you could do it with a 36 though. Pretty sure those are only meant for the new MTB groups. I'm sure with a bit of creativity and some slightly smaller chain rings up front it could be done.

BoSoxYacht

its a little different with 11speed shifters. 7,8, and 9 speed mountain derailleurs work with 10 speed road shifters, but 11 speed shifters use a different cable pull.

bt

I'm eventually going to put this together on one of my roadies.

have you tried it?